REVIEWS:
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Martin Popoff of The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal, as well as quite a few underground fans, really seem to rave about this album, as if it kickstarted the third wave of metal or some crap like that, but I honestly don't hear it. Maybe it's because I'm not a power metal fan at all (witness my review of Hall Of The Mountain King for an especially mean example), but there doesn't seem to be anything that special about it in my opinion. Sirens seems to be average power/thrash kind of stuff that suffers from a vocalist not convincing enough to make the dumb subject matter come to life (the main requirement I have for this type of stuff, since the lyrics are often cheesy - Jon Oliva, with only a couple exceptions, stays in the high range most of the time, and it really gets annoying after awhile) and not that many good melodies. It does sound convincingly raw, though, as this is their debut, so the amount of fire and energy in the performance is particularly high.
However, on the issue of the songs, most of them are decent, if not that much more. The opening title track is a standout, a more than decent anthemic opener that matches its' title - check out those intriguing mystical lyrics, the surprisingly effective vocal effects in the catchy chorus, and that excellent guitar intro with bells in the background leading us into the main riff. Nice song to get a career going. "Rage" even shows they're taking a liking to hardcore punk stylings, and that's where their added energy really works, not that those screams of the title and neat descending chorus riff really hurt either. Also, the closer "Out On The Streets" is a pretty foreshadowing of their exquisite ballad side (one of my favorite sides of them, actually) and the previous "Scream Murder" is probably my personal favorite, mostly because the face-ripping energy comes through quite a bit, and it's got a very good pace-shifting riff.
I don't really have much to say about the other songs here, though. The only really awful one would be "Twisted Little Sister", some extremely silly and pseudo-threatening hair metal styled crap with a simplistic riff and probably the stupidest lyrics on the entire album, though none of the other ones strike me as that special (particularly the cliched and generic thrasher "Living For The Night"). As for the rest, "I Believe", despite starting out very similarly to the title track in parts, is an okay pounding song with some nice thrash bits (really dumb robotic vocal noises in there, though), "On The Run" has a good dual set of riffs (even if the song itself is pretty hard to remember), and "Holocaust" is a good example of the 'apocalyptic' musical and lyrical theme that runs through the album, with a decent riff. Sorry, but I'm not gonna get too excited about this stuff - Sirens is definitely more good than bad, but I just don't see what makes it so classic compared to everything else around the time period.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Oddly enough, this album is considered by many fans a raging return to form after the generally despised, overly commercial Fight For The Rock. However, if that is indeed true, I'm very scared to think what Fight For The Rock sounds like, as this particular release is one of the most embarassingly cheesy and dated albums I've ever heard by anyone - the power metal tendencies displayed on earlier albums seem to have gone berzerk here. It's clear from listening to the first half in particular that Jon Oliva still hasn't figured out that it's not necessary to constantly go in the high registers and cram in glass breaking "ahhs" in every spare second, especially when he has a gritty voice - it just does not mix. Oh well, at least he'd finetune his skills to the best of his ability a few years later.
The opening "24 Hrs. Ago" is one of the worst offenders of this album's weaknesses - it has its' share of horrible oversinging and is one of many early Savatage songs (more than half of 'em here) that have a ludicrous fixation with using the words "night" and "dark", and despite a somewhat strong riff and chorus, the song is completely ruined by those two factors. It gets even worse in "Beyond The Doors Of The Dark", which has a whole chanting section for Oliva's "ahhhhs" and even more horrible overblown lyrics. "Legions" is more of the same, sounding like Megadeth gone horribly wrong, with an awful chorus ('can they hear your battle cri-iiiiiiiiii-uhhhhhhhhh-es'), while another failed attempt to go mainstream, "Strange Wings", has a generic riff and sounds exactly like a second rate Dokken or Scorpions knockoff. The first half closing instrumental "Prelude To Madness" contains a hint of the more 90s 'operatic' material (even co-written with future dominant lyricist and producer Paul O' Neill), with great Criss Oliva soloing.
Things do get a bit better on the second half, but still not enough to save the album from forgettable status. The title track has another one of the album's best riffs, but the 'dungeons and dragons' power metal tendencies and yet another repetitive 'ahhh' vocal section completely kill the song. Jon Oliva thankfully calms down on the fairly melodic "The Price You Pay" and the generic speed metal of "White Witch", which both have decent choruses, but certainly don't knock your socks off. The throwaway instrumental "Last Dawn" proceeds the closest thing to a very good song here, "Devastation", which is led by a nice galloping riff. In all, due in large part to the horrific first half, Hall Of The Mountain King really makes me wonder, way more so than before, why so many fans prefer this style to their later conceptual one.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Maybe Jon Oliva and the gang realized that their cliched power metal game was getting out of hand, as they finally begin to make a break for that style here. Not surprisingly, this is pretty much where the fans of the slightly 'progressive' era of the band jump on board, including myself. It's not completely immersed in the symphonic, often piano-driven, operatic mold merged with metal and tinges of an artsier style, as there are some more straightforward rockers here that harken back to their older days, so that means Gutter Ballet is about as transition as it gets for the band. Even if their sound isn't quite all the way together yet in terms of melody and drama, the key ingredients are falling into place, and more importantly, the overall effort is better than what came before.
Especially in the best song on here in the form of the title track, which is probably their defining ballad, though not necessarily the best one they've attempted. "Gutter Ballet" has it all - an epic, symphonic-tinged sweep, passionate singing (and not overdoing the trick like last time!), some very excellent riffs and guitar breaks, and of course, an exciting climactic chorus. To a lesser extent, "When The Crowds Are Gone" also has some of the same Queen-inspired melodrama, though it feels awkward being placed fourth on the album when it has such a conclusive feel, and maybe the effect of it might be a little overemotive. But these certainly aren't the only moments of beauty, thankfully - "Silk And Steel" and "Temptation Revelation" are quite pretty acoustic guitar and piano pieces respectively, particularly the former's showcase of Criss Oliva's considerable talent.
The other songs outside of those four are a little mixed. On the plus side, the opening "Of Rage And War" is the Mountain King style done well, as its' overall groove and aggressiveness is convincing (particularly the 'better listen to me, you son of a bitch' portions), and "The Unholy" sounds like a song Iron Maiden would be proud of, with its' galloping arrangement and over-the-top vocals (even if it's really cheesy, with those 'ahhhhh! the unholy!' screams). But on the other hand, "She's In Love" is an atrocious and completely generic speed rocker (what is this, a Fight For The Rock outtake? geez!), "Hounds" is kind of a directionless, overblown and boring attempt at the ballad style and "Mentally Yours" is very awkwardly structured between the 'ballad' and 'rocker' sides of the sound. As for "Summer's Rain", it's OK I guess - not really anything great, but that guitar part that rises out of the chorus is nice (go Criss again!). So what's the final opinion on the album? Well, Gutter Ballet is certainly decent in all, but the band wouldn't fully come into their own in this style until the next one...
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Streets is a lengthy concept album which doesn't fit the 'rock opera' tag at all, as there are no recurring melodic moments throughout the album, and half the time I can't even tell there's a story even going on, so on that level, it's not very coherent as a conceptual release, but as a collection of songs it's quite impressive and the best moments here are amazing. What really amazes me here is the way Jon Oliva is able to scream or softly sing the lyrics in such an alarmingly emotional fashion as if he lived through the tragic events that took place in the story of the main character here, D.T. Jesus (short for Down Town or Detox), himself - especially during the quieter ballad moments.
The near 7 minute opening title track has a very 'choir like' atmosphere with bells and a calm verse section that explodes into a really booming, uneasy chorus and it also gives Criss Oliva the chance to show his stuff during solo time. "Jesus Saves", meanwhile, is D.T.'s theme song, with a great orchestrated, Broadway vibe and powerfully sung Jon Oliva vocals from the gut, especially during that anthemic 'WHAT?!?!?! JESUS SAVES!!!' chorus. "Tonight He Grins Again" is the first of quite a few tremendously emotional, often calm and hopeless, piano ballads, and it's a major highlight, coming to a climax during the triumphant yell of the title in the chorus - powerful lyrics here too. "Strange Reality" follows as a great rocker with a cool anthemic melody and nice guitar work and lyrics, and "A Little Too Far" is yet another dark piano ballad in the same vein as "Tonight He Grins Again" and is nearly as memorable.
The short "You're Alive" acts as a soaring, unbelievable setup for the dramatic events in the 'opera', with an uplifting riff and action building melody, while in the Van Halen-ish speed metal tune "Sammy And Tex", D.T.'s friend Sammy is tragically murdered by Tex, and the overall effect of the vocals, riffing and soloing is simply chaotic. "St. Patrick", meanwhile, starts off in that ballad vein again, which gives Jon Oliva another chance to let his emotions run wild, and it has a great instrumental break that fits the title of the song well. The second half, however, starts off kind of weak - "Can You Hear Me Now" has booming drums in the quiet verses and nice soloing, but the actual song isn't very interesting, "New York City Don't Mean Nothing" has biting John Lennon and acoustic Pink Floyd influences then goes into a solo break extremely reminiscent of Rush (namely "Red Barchetta") that doesn't fit the rest of the song at all and "Ghost In The Ruins" is just OK.
"If I Go Away", however, proves that Savatage's greatest strength is indeed ballad writing, and this one is a pure classic - everything about this song is extremely moving, from the piano and vocal melodies to the astonishing bridge, which if you listen to it with the lights turned off, it feels like there are spirits in the room! It's eerie... "Agony And Ecstasy" follows as a pretty cool, dark riff rocker, and "Heal My Soul" recalls the 'choir like' atmosphere of the opening title track and it's soothing and calm during its' short length.
Those two songs pale in comparison to the monumental "Somewhere In Time", however, which is another astonishing highlight with heart wrenching lyrics, melody and just the right choice of notes that make it one of the few songs that can move me to tears on the right kind of day, I ain't kidding you. The closing "Believe" ends the story (as incidentally one of the few points you can tell when one's going on) or more like an excellent set of songs on a majestic note with that chorus. I would have rated this a 9, but due to the lack of 'conceptual' feel and weaker songs at the beginning of the second half, I dropped it a point.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
This was the point in the band's career where frontman Jon Oliva decided to take a backseat as far as the vocal duties, but was still heavily involved in the songwriting process and piano playing, so Edge Of Thorns marks the debut of new vocalist Zak Stevens, who has a somewhat more powerful, upfront voice with a little more range and distinctive quality. Savatage at this point were still going through a transition period from their old power metal sound to a more theatrical, operatic and softer one, and this album is less focused and consistent than the previous Streets.
The songs generally aren't too far removed from generic territory, especially solo wise, and quite a few of them just aren't that captivating, riff, melody and lyric wise. Some suffer from abrupt and misplaced choruses, such as "Skraggy's Tomb" and "Follow Me", although the latter picks up near the end. The piano based instrumentals "Labyrinths" and "Exit Music" are nice but don't hold my attention and add nothing to the flow of the album, while "He Carves His Stone", "Damien" and "Degrees Of Sanity" are other undistinguished, but not half bad, riff-oriented numbers.
There are a few major highlights here, though, in the songs that bookend the album - the title track has a great buildup and powerfully sung chorus vocals with a gripping solo section, while the stripped down closing ballad "Sleep" is very calm, moody, relaxed and beautiful, especially in the guitar melodies of Criss Oliva - tragically, this would be his last album with the band, as he would later die in a car accident. "Conversation Piece" also benefits from an emotional chorus and lyrics, while "All That I Bleed" continues to prove that this band is at their best when performing ballads with incredible feeling and mood. "Lights Out" is the most aggressive and forceful with a great time change in the chorus, while "Miles Away", with its' nice uptempo middle section, is another minor highlight on this somewhat unfulfilled, but still good, effort.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
This was Savatage's first album without guitarist and founding member Criss Oliva, as his replacement for Handful Of Rain was Alex Skolnick, formerly of Testament. Skolnick's playing style doesn't really differ from Oliva's too much, but does seem to have a more bluesy/rootsy feel in places. The band also continues to explore more in the vein of well crafted epic ballad territory, almost progressive at times, which seemed to have turned off the old fans a little, although there are still a couple songs where they really rock out (the furious opening pounder "Taunting Cobras" with its' yells after the chorus, and "Nothing Going On", by far the loudest and most intense of the set, and well suited for the Zakk Stevens vocal chords), and even the softer songs have their heavier moments.
Plus, the melodies are somewhat stronger than they were on the last album, as each song here has at least a nice hook and/or riff going for it, such as "Stare Into The Sun", which builds up from slow, bluesy territory to a booming chorus, and the melodically majestic piano-laden "Watching You Fall", which is also helped out by the strong vocals, while more minor triumphs in the haunting title track and the similarly catchy "Castles Burning" demonstrates this material's pleasurability - it doesn't really reach phenomenal or innovative heights, but never hits any horrible or even mediocre lows either, so it's very consistent.
The two longer (at 7 minutes plus) songs do come close to greatness, as "Chance" hints at the orchestrated, epic and operatic majesty of Dead Winter Dead and The Wake Of Magellan with its' arrangement and instrumentation (also the first use of vocal layering in the Stevens era), and it's exciting until the end, while "Alone You Breathe" is one of the most celebrated Savatage ballads, as it's a dedication to fallen guitarist Criss Oliva, and it's a strong number, featuring a powerful melody, moving lyrics and emotional vocals, although the chorus is a little too heavy and bombastic for the mood, and the ending section is slightly awkward - for a better version, check out the piano-only one on Magellan as a bonus track (coupled with "Somewhere In Time" in a medley) with Jon Oliva on vocals, as it's more sparse and breathtaking. Even so, the original is a great conclusion to one of the band's most important albums (also arguably their best non-concept effort), and things would get better from here.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
During this period of time, Savatage went thorough a couple of lineup changes in the band, with guitarist Alex Skolnick being replaced by Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffrey and drummer Steve Wacholz with Jeff Plate. The resulting studio effort marked the return to concept album territory, as Dead Winter Dead is based on the wartorn Yugoslavia during the early 1990s and the band incorporates distinct classical and Christmas music influences into their sound, particularly within the two instrumentals "Mozart And Madness" and the well-known "Chrismas Eve 12/24 (Sarajevo)" (which was also used for the Trans Siberian Orchestra project), that move the story forward and give it a lot of drama and beauty amonst the horror that occurs.
After an opening instrumental section in "Overture" and a short piano ballad "Sarajevo", Dead Winter Dead really gets going with the uplifting and quite hopeful "This Is The Time (1990)", which signifies change as the Berlin Wall comes down, and it also includes great melody and a sweeping middle section. The album takes a darker turn for the worse with the sinister Jon Oliva-sung "I Am", which has a powerful melody sung in a very grunt and forceful fashion, while "Starlight" moves from lighter territory to a biting chorus and really hard hitting backing instrumentation. The second song with Jon Oliva at the lead vocal helm, "Doesn't Matter Anyway", is even more 'sinister' than the first, with the feeling of a heartless soldier killing during the very momentum of wartime, with purely vicious vocals and lyrics that perfectly fit the mood. Zak Stevens then returns for the yearning piano ballad "This Isn't What We Meant".
The second half begins with the aforementioned "Mozart And Madness" instrumental, with the orchestra representing the Muslims and the band representing the Serbs, and the holiday and symphonic feel of parts of the backing music in this piece as well as the title track's short intro "Memory" providing a glimmer of hope. The title track is another one of the heavy hitters, with the aggressive band performance signifying further bloodshed, and "One Child" is another piano led ballad with a booming chorus and a really dramatic 'I will be there for you, if you still want me to' section which has a number of fascinating vocal layers all singing different things. The aforementioned "Christmas Eve 12/24 (Sarajevo)" leads into the closing "Not What You See", which sees a soldier and a young girl, each one from different sides, meeting with each other for a beautiful, sweeping ending that nevertheless feels like it could have been so much better. In all, given the potential of the subject matter, Dead Winter Dead isn't as powerful as it could have been, plus it runs a little too quickly, and some parts seem disjointed from the actual story. Nevertheless, it's still an excellent, thought provoking and recommended effort.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Yet another concept album in the Zak Stevens era of Savatage, The Wake Of Magellan is a somewhat more complex and hard to follow story, but more importantly, it shows a band 14 albums deep in their career continuing to challenge themselves and crafting a heavily dramatic gem. This time it's actually two stories being tied together, one dealing with the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin and a situation dealing with an old sailor and 'stowaways' on the ship. Despite everything described in the liner notes, I still can't fully comprehend it, so I won't get into the story's significance within the songs, but the music here does fit into it all effortlessly, and there are quite a few breathtaking melodies and dramatic moments throughout the entire opus, sung by the bellowing Stevens' voice, which is perfect for this setting.
"The Ocean" is a short, dramatic instrumental introduction that catches fire when the piano melody meets the chugging guitars, and the very soundtrack-ish, theme song-like "Welcome" has breathtaking piano and melody and is quite addictive - it can be difficult to let go of this one and actually listen to the rest of the songs. "Turns To Me" starts off in a gently acoustic vein but goes into a faster, progressive, orchestral territory with the lyrics sung in an interestingly fast, almost rap-like manner - with a majestic and unbelievable bridge. "Morning Sun" perfectly captures the feel of a ship swaying and rocking across the waves, and the actual song ain't half bad either, while the first Jon Oliva-sung tune "Another Way" is heavy with a good orchestral chorus, but nothing too spectacular. The same can be said for the otherwise interesting guitar work and vocal delivery of "Blackjack Guillotine".
Jon Oliva comes to the front again on "Paragons Of Innocence", and this is where The Wake Of Magellan really gains a classic momentum that never lets up throughout the rest of the songs, this one the complete highlight with a solid riff, amazing melody and uplifting chorus and fast vocal section with a scream of 'gotta let it' 30 times in one breath that actually helps push the song forward, and it's almost worth the price of the album alone. "Complaint In The System (Veronica Guerin)" also benefits from that totally awesome vocal delivery - and that piano riff and infectious echo of 'gotta complaint in the system' is addictive enough as it is.
The first instrumental "Underture" is a phenomenal summary of the great 'orchestral' melodies that are yet to come in the rest of the album and has a brilliant 'stormy' time change, while the title track is the most climactic number that paints a truly stunning picture of a ship being caught in the fury of the storm and the 'I believe what the prophet said...' chorus is astonishing, while "Anymore" is just gorgeous, emotional balladry that moves anyone with a heart and the second instrumental "The Storm" has fantastic, extremely well-chosen guitar licks in the vein of six string genius David Gilmour. The 8 minute closing "Hourglass" brings every aspect of the story together and reprises several breathtaking melodies to properly end one of the greatest concept releases of the 90s (there are very few good ones from that decade).
Note: The CD version adds acoustic bonus tracks - a piano medley of "Somewhere In Time" and the moving Criss Oliva tribute "Alone You Breathe", plus average renditions of the Edge Of Thorns track "Sleep" and "Stay", a Streets out-take.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
A couple more key changes in the Savatage lineup came yet again before the long-awaited release of this, their third concept album in a row (dealing with a mental institution of some sort and a few kids' curiousity with it). Singer Zak Stevens left the band to spend time with his family (though it does sound like he had a hand in some of the backing vocals, and still sings lead on the excellent rocking bonus track "Shotgun Innocence", which may have the most memorable hook on this whole release), and lead guitarist Al Pitrelli replaced Marty Friedman at this position in Megadeth. As a result, second guitarist Chris Caffrey took over the sole guitar spot, while songwriter and occasional vocalist Jon Oliva returned to the role of frontman during the course of the album (though the band did use a replacement on stage and for future albums afterwards). The result, mostly due to Oliva's vocal style, is a return of sorts to the grit of Streets, but with the symphonic riff-heavy conceptual sound of the last few albums remaining largely unchanged.
Of course, this is something of a flaw here, as Poets & Madmen essentially puts the generic Savatage style on display very obviously here (i.e. soft piano intro turning to heavy rocker, layered vocals, fast harmonies, symphonic keyboards and metal riffs), and it seems that the group doesn't have any further to go in expanding the style. What an inviting one it is, though, as everything sounds really great on initial listen, but due to overuse of this formula, boredom inevitably sets in. None of these songs are bad by any means, but there really isn't anything in, say, "The Rumor" and "Man In The Mirror" that hasn't been heard better in similar ventures from the band. Plus, unlike the last two albums, this one really seems like a collection of unconnected songs rather than a flowing concept, and it uses its' best tracks at the very beginning of the album without saving its' most gripping moments for towards the very end (which helps in making The Wake Of Magellan so spectacular).
Enough complaining, though, as the first three tracks on here really deliver the goods in such a ripping fashion. "Stay With Me Awhile" merges the heavy riffs and piano ballad style with neat melody and uncertain tension without sounding recycled, "There In The Silence" has a great, great eerie synth riff that heightens the sheer start-stop excitement of the song, and "Der Commisar" goes from a slow and threatening, pounding anthem to a stunning burst of wonderfully fast melody. And while the remainder of the songs don't really approach heights like that, "Drive" and "Awaken" are still highly memorable, if undeniably a bit cheezy, rockers, with the former effectively fast-paced and the latter having a great bass-driven groove. "Surrender" and "Back To A Reason", meanwhile, work on quite effectively built anthemic sections.
While this certainly sounds like one of the band's most accomplished albums at first, what ultimately drags it down a notch are the recycling of the sound in beating the whole thing nearly to death in places (particularly in the 10 minute epic "Morphine Child" and the proto-Sava ballad rocker "I Seek Power"), and the fact that the 'much less pleasurable than Zak Stevens' vocals of Jon Oliva can't really carry the whole album over the course of 63 minutes without sounding a bit grating (which he managed to avoid on Streets). Oh well - as long as he's not in that godawful Hall Of The Mountain King power metal mode, he's certainly a tolerable and even at points very powerful and emotional singer. And for now at least, the Savatage sound of the past 10 years is still something appealing.
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